New World music since the late nineteenth century has been the result of mixing and melding elements of Old World styles into something altogether modern. That is the nature of our melting pot culture. Monty Alexander’s work epitomizes that process at the next level. He brings us the hybrid of the hybrids that make up the New World stylistic canon. As a Jamaican jazz pianist, Monty has done the most logical thing over the course of his career: jazz exploration of reggae repertoire. With his 1999 Stir It Up: The Music of Bob Marley, Monty showed the music world a revisitation of reggae in terms of jazz, exposing the direct stylistic relationship between continental American and traditional Caribbean music. With Monty Meets Sly and Robbie, you can hear that this recombinant style is taken a step further. Longstanding traditions are recycled in such a way that the final product is intricate and fresh.

The sheer flawlessness of the record is due in part to Monty’s wise choice of collaborators. This time around, Monty has teamed up with Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, a.k.a. “the Riddim Twins,” reggae’s best known rhythm section, to provide the Afro-Caribbean groundwork for the jazz piano he applies on top. The record starts off funky with a bass-driven “Chameleon” that lets you know right away just how tight this group is. Though the free form exploration is far-reaching and well executed, especially where Monty’s solos are concerned, the arrangements are controlled almost to the point of rigidity. This structured format certainly makes for cleanliness, but it also gives the finish a smoothness akin to elevator music. So, while it is an aural treat to hear Monty dig his fingers into the keys in intricate solos, strategically placed runs, and other whimsical embellishments, the overall feel of the record is a bit calm for what should probably be an unencumbered happening.